Pump



Aug. 16, 1966 s w. woRTLEY PUMP med Dec. 17, 1964 7 n MW .o w m m. n Cu F- Mm... m 0 N MMwn w W w w n d A 3 a 4 M m 9 3 55 Y MJ 2 n0. B Vm MUUNH E m United States Patent O 3,266,432 PUMP Stewart W. Wortley, 1814 S. Cheyenne Ave., Tulsa, Okla. Filed Dec. 17, 1964, Ser. No. 419,062 4 Claims. (Cl. 103-157) The present invention relates to pumps, more particularly of the reciprocating piston type.

Although the term pu-mp is applied to the present invention, the term compressor might equally well be used, as the present invention is equally well adapted to impel liquids or gases. Accordingly, despite the use of the term pump in the following specification and the appended claims, it is to be understood that use of the prensent invention as a compressor for gases is also within the contemplation of the present invention.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a pump that will have a smooth and regular intake and exhaust without pulsing.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a pump the delivery of which is adjustable over a wide range including idling or no delivery.

Finally, it is an object of the present invention to provide a pump which will be relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture, easy to assemble, install, maintain and repair, and rugged and durable in use.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of t-he following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the piston means and valve means of a pump according to the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of a pump according to the present invention with parts in section;

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 but showing the parts in another adjusted position;

FIGURE 4 is a transverse cross-sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 2 through a pump according to the present invention; and

FIGURE 5 is a plan view on a reduced scale of a pump according to the present invention.

Referring now to the drawing in greater detail, there is shown a pump indicated generally at 1 and comprising an electric motor 3 having a drive shaft 5 for rotating and reciprocating piston means indicated generally at 7. Piston means 7 includes a piston 9 carried on a piston rod 11. Piston rod l1 is interconnected with drive shaft 5 by a lost motion connection 13 including a cylindrical sleeve 15 having a pair -of'diametrically .opposed elongated axially extending slots 17 through the side walls thereof, in which slide pins 19 carried by the adjacent end of piston rod 11. Rotation of piston means 7 by motor 3 thus causes piston means 7 to be rotated and permits piston means 7 to reciprocate axially relative to drive shaft 5.

Piston means 7 is principally disposed in a chamber 21 having a cylindrical interior. Piston 9 is in slidable sealing contact with the interior of chamber 21. Chamber 21 -has a pair of intake openings 23 and 25 on the same side thereof but spaced apart lengthwise of chamber 21 and spaced from the ends of chamber 21. Chamber 21 also 4has a pair of exhaust openings 27 and 29 each of which is diametrically opposed to and coaxial with an intake opening 23 or 25.

Piston means 7 also includes valve means 31 including two valve members 33 of substantial axial extent disposed on opposite axial sides of piston 9 and each having a cylindrical outer periphery that extends through 180 of arc. Each valve member 33 is carried by a bracket 35 that includes a collar surrounding and iixed on piston rod 11. A pin 37 is `screw-threadedly secured to bracket 35 and extends through bracket 35 and through a hole in ICC piston rod 11, thereby to secure bracket 35 to piston rod A11 against displacement in any direction. The free end of pin 37 extends radially outwardly and is slidably dispose-d in a complementary recess in valve member 33. A pair of pins 39 are screw-threadedly secured to valve member 33 and extend away from valve member 33 in a direction opposite that fof pin 37 and are slidably received in complementary openings through bracket 35. Coil compression springs 41 encircle pins 39 and act between valve member 33 and bracket 35 continuously yieldably to urge valve member 33 away from bracket 35, that is, radially outwardly of piston rod 11. For stability, pins 39 are spaced equal distances on opposite sides of piston rod 11. When valve member 33 is disposed with its cylindrical outer periphery coaxial with piston rod 11, springs 41 will be 'under moderate compression. When piston rod 11 is mounted in chamber 21 coaxial Wit-h the cylindrical interior of chamber 21, therefore, valve members 33 will be continuously yieldably urged against the inne-r periphery of chamber 21 in sealing relationship therewith. Valve members 33 are 180 out of phase with each other.

A drive plate 43 is carried by and is fixed relative to an end of piston rod 11 that projects axially beyond charnber 21 in the opposite direction from motor 3. Drive plate 43 is disposed in a plane that is intersected by the axis of piston rod 11 at an acute angle. In other words, the plane of the face of plate 43 remote from chamber 21 is quite a bit turned from perpendicular relationship to the axis of piston -rod 11. A coil compression spring 45 encircles the portion of -piston rod 11 that extends axially beyond chamber 21, between chamber 21 and drive plate 43. Retainers 47 encircle piston rod 11 and contact the opposite ends of spring 45. The retainer 47 adjacent drive plate 43 is spaced from drive plate 43 by a thrust bearing 49 in the form of a series of roller balls or other antifriction thrust bearing means, so that spring 45 and retainers 47 tend to remain stationary with chamber 21. Coil compression spring 45 thus acts continuously to urge drive plate 43 to the right as seen in FIGURES 2 and 3.

The face of d-rive plate 43 opposite chamber 21 con tacts a ball 51 carried by a Isleeve 53 whose axis is perpendicular to and intersects the axis of piston rod 11. Sleeve threaded engagement with a screw-threaded spindle 55 which is axially xed but is rotatable by means of an adjustment knob 57 thereby to move Iball 51 between the positions shown in FIGURES 2 and 3. A pin -59 carried by sleeve 53 -ri-des in a rectilinear guide 61 parallel to spindle 55 thereby to prevent rotation of sleeve 53 and to limit adjustive movement Iof .ball 51 t0 rectilinear movement perpendicular to the axis of piston rod 11.

As can be seen in FIGURE 5, the intake openings 23 and 25 communicate in common with an intake conduit 63; while the exhaust openings 27 and 29 communicate in common with an exhaust conduit 65, for the supply and exhaust, respectively, of fluid to and from the pump.

In operation, when motor 3 is actuated to rotate drive shaft 5 in the ydirection of the arrow of FIGURE 4, piston rod 11 will be rotated through connection 13. Drive plate 43 will be continuously urged by spring 45 against ball 51. But as the contact surface of drive plate 43 is inclined relative to its axis of rotation, drive plate 43 will function somewhat in the manner of a wobble plate and upon rotation will move back and forth between the full and phantom line positions shown in FIGURE 2. This gyratory movement of drive plate 43 will in turn cause the piston rod 11 and with it the entire piston means 7 to reciprocate axially as it rotates, this axial reciprocation being accommodated by the lost motion connection 13, specifically, by reciprocation of pins 19 in slots 17.

53 is internally screw-threaded and is in screw aafseftssav The reciprocatory and rotary motion of piston means 7 causes piston 9 to reciprocate as it rotates, thereby alternately to enlarge and decrease the size of the chambers on either side of piston 9 within chamber 21. At the same time, the valve members 33 rotate and reciprocate with generally helical movement in paths of closed configuration. The valve members 33 are of such axial extent, however, and are so located on piston rod 11, that they axially overlie the openings 23, 25, 27 and 29 at all times. By axially overlie is meant that t-he openings 23, 25, 27 and 29 are always disposed between the ends of a valve member 33 regardless of whether those openings are open or are closed by the Valve members 33.

The piston means 7 is at its extreme right-hand position Ias shown in FIGURE 2. Assuming the piston means 7 to be rotating in the direction of the arrow in FIGURE 4, the right-hand valve member 33 as shown in FIGURE 2 will have just uncovered intake opening 25 and will be just starting to close exhaust opening 29. Upon further rotation of the piston means in that direction, the drive plate 43 will force piston rod 11 to the left as shown in FIGURE 2, -so that piston 9 will suck uid in through intake opening 25 while exhaust opening 29 is closed. At the same time, however, the left-hand valve member 33 as seen in FIGURE 2 will be just exposing the exhaust opening 27 and just closing the intake opening 23, so that movement of piston 9 to the left as seen in FIGURE 2 will force Huid out of exhaust opening 27, until piston 9 reaches its Vextreme leftmost position with reference to FIGURE 2. Throughout this time, the intake opening 23 and the exhaust opening 29 will be tracing semicircular helical paths on the cylindrical outer peripheries of their respective valve members 33.

When the piston means 7 has rotated 180 from its position shown in FIGURE 2, the right hand valve member 33 will be just closing the intake opening 25 and just exposing the exhaust opening 29; while the left-hand valve member 33 will be just exposing the intake opening 23 and just closing the exhaust opening 27. There will follow movement of the piston means 7 to the right as shown in FIGURE 2 through 180 of rotation until the parts resume the very position shown in FIGURE 2; and during this rightward movement of piston means 7, intake opening 23 will supply uid to the chamber which is to the left of piston 9 while exhaust opening 29 will let fluid out of the chamber which is to the right of piston 9, after which the above operation will be repeated.

It will therefore be appreciate-d that fluid will always be flowing in through one of intake openings 23 and 25 and Huid will always be exhausted throughone of exhaust openings 27 and 29. The result is that a steady ow of fluid both into and out of the pump is achieved, with no pulsation or other undesirable flow characteristics, thanks to the 180 out-of-phase relationship of the valve members 33 to each other.

It will also be recognized that the throw or stroke of the pump can be adjusted by rotation of spindle 55 thereby to move ball 51 axially therealong. In the position of ball 51 shown in FIGURE 2, the pump has maximum stroke, thereby to handle a maximum quantity of iluid. But in the position of FIGURE 3, in which the contact point of ball 51 with drive plate 43 lies on the axis of piston rod 11, rotation of piston rod 11 will be accompanied by no axial movement, so that the pump will be in neutral and no uid will ow.

From a consideration of the foregoing disclosure, therefore, it will be evident that all of the initially recited objects of the present invention have been achieved.

Although the present invention has been described and illustrated in connection with a preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that modifications and variations may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention, as those skilled in this art will readily understand. Such modifications and variations are considered to be Within the purview and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A pump compri-sing a chamber having a cylindrical inner periphery, intake and exhaust openings through said periphery spaced from the ends of said periphery, piston means axially reciprocable in the chamber to vary the volume of the chamber, valve means in the chamber rotatable about the axis of the chamber alternately to open one of sai-d intake and exhaust openings and to close the other of said intake and exhaust openings, said valve means being secured to said piston means against axial movement relative to said piston means, and means for rotating and reciprocating said piston means thereby to move said valve means in a lhelical path of closed configuration.

2. A pump as claimed in claim 1, said valve means having an axial extent greater than the str-oke of the piston means so as axially to overlie said intake and exhaust openings in all positions of said piston means.

3. A pump comprising a chamber having a cylindrical inner periphery, intake and exhaust openings through said periphery spaced from the ends of said periphery, piston means axially reciprocable in t'he chamber to vary the volume of the chamber, valve means in the chamber rotatable about the axis of the chamber alternately to open one of said intake and exhaust openings and to close the other of said intake and exhaust openings, and means continuously yieldably urging said valve means radially outwardly into sealing contact with said inner periphery.

4. A pump comprising a chamber having a cylindrical inner periphery, intake and exhaust openings through said periphery spaced from the ends of said periphery, piston means axially reciprocable in the chamber to vary the volume of the chamber, valve means in the chamber rotatable about the axis of the chamber alternately to open one of said intake and exhaust openings and to close the other of said intake and exhaust openings, said piston means including a piston rod, and means for rotating and reciprocating the piston rod, the last-named means including lost-motion connection means having lost motion lengthwise of the piston rod.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,301,667 11/1942 Lutz 230-173 FOREIGN PATENTS 126,563 5/1919 Great Britain.

MARK NEWMAN, Primary Examiner.

HENRY F. RADUAZO, Examiner. 

1. A PUMP COMPRISING A CHAMBER HAVING A CYLINDRICAL INNER PERIPHERY, INTAKE AND EXHAUST OPENINGS THROUGH SAID PERIPHERY SPACED FROM THE ENDS OF SAID PERIPERY, PISTON MEANS AXIALLY RECIPROCABLE IN THE CHAMBER TO VARY THE VOLUME OF THE CHAMBER, VALVE MEANS IN THE CHAMBER ROTATABLE ABOUT THE AXIS OF THE CHAMBER ALTERNATELY TO OPEN ONE OF SAID INTAKE AND EXHAUST OPENINGS AND TO CLOSE THE OTHER OF SAID INTAKE AND EXHAUST OPENINGS, SAID VALVE MEANS BEING SECURED TO SAID PISTON MEANS AGAINST AXIAL MOVEMENT RELATIVE TO SAID PISTON MEANS, AND MEANS FOR ROTATING AND RECIPROCATING SAID PISTON MEANS THEREBY TO MOVE SAID VALVE MEANS IN A HELICAL PATH OF CLOSED CONFIGURATION. 